damian trujillo we're coming at you in a virtual setting. the topics are too important for us not to shed light on them, so from my home to yours, this is your "comunidad del valle." >> announcer: nbc bay area presents "comunidad del valle" with damian trujillo. >> we're going to start the show here on "comunidad del valle" with the san jose council member from district 5. welcome to the show. >> good morning. thanks so much for having me here. it's a pleasure. >> thank you. i saw you out there on the streets just over a week ago and just your reaction to what you

saw. when i saw you you were on the al um rock bridge overpass over just -- thank you. they had just gotten folks off of the freeway, this was one of the ways that they were protesting was by halting traffic and i thought it was really important for me to be there to witness it, to be part of it, to stand in solidarity with our folks who are protesting, but more than anything to stand in solidarity with the country that is in mourning over what we saw the horrific video where we all witnessed a murder take place. and i took my son who just turned 17, it's important for him to also be a part of happening. it's a movement that is taking place all throughout the country. the outrage that's being felt is real and it comes from -- it comes from a very deep-rooted

place of pain. the historical i taken place re whatever section you want to point at. the police department is one that we're now dealing with because of what we saw, but this comes from a place of disappointment, of great despair, of feeling that no matter what you do you're never good enough. you're not good enough for the neighborhood, you are not good enough for public higher learning institutions, you are not good enough for politics, you are not good enough to have your child play with your neighbor's child because of the color of your skin. so it's important for us to listen and it's important for us to also stand in solidarity. >> and, i mean, it's a generational thing, right? i mean, we are not the first to experience it, unfortunately, we are probably not going to be the last. i mean, unless something is done and i'm not sure what that

something is, this is going to happen again whether here or other parts of the country and our children and grandchildren are going to be the ones in the middle of it. >> yes, you're right. and, you know, for some folks who are jumping in because -- because of their youth, this is a great -- a great time in history in my opinion to be part of something that is going to make some systemic changes. but you're right, this is -- this is for some folks it's a lifetime, for others it's not just their own lifetime but the lifetime of their ancestors. remember, the relationship between the black community and white america was not born out of negotiations and good will, they were brought here to this continent as slaves, as another man's property in order to prove profit tear, and latinos, brown people, have a very, very

difficult relationship as well with the u.s. because, you know, many of us feel that we were already here, the indigenous were already here and settlers came in, they displaced us and as a result we've now been dealing with systems where it's not a level playing field. there is an authority that continues to oppress and suppress, and i think especially now as we're seeing that the world is getting smaller, but also the world is getting smarter, more intelligent, very creative and we sit in the center of that -- of that -- of that brain trust. we are silicon valley where it is the engine of ingenuity, creativity, we're changing the world, but yet when you see who heads these -- these massive mega companies or who sits on the board of directors, the percentage of brown people is

incredibly small and disproportionate to the population that it serves. so lots of frustrations, a lot -- lots of movement that still needs to be made. i think that the protests are simply a manifestation of the oppression and suppression that we've been feeling, that we've had to somehow negotiate, navigate through it, almost accept it, if you will, and when we saw that murder take place by the people, the very people that are supposed to protect us, it was a watershed moment. it was the incident that sparked the fire, unleashed all of the energy and frustration and what you're seeing now is folks saying, enough is enough, let's start with the police department. in my opinion we can start there, but all the systemic changes that need to be addressed and viewed through an

equity lens needs to be addressed. access to health care, access to testing during one of the worst health crisis of our times, the pandemic of covid-19, access to mental health services, opportunities for economic vitality and for upper mobility. we need to be able to address this, we need to be real and honest about what the issues are and where the pain is coming from and then those who are in positions of power and influence need to be able to make structural changes that come through policy and then get enacted. >> all very good points and you are one of those policymakers and so we will -- i know you have your hands full. we will be back with council member carrasco when we continue. stay with us.

we're back with council

member magdalena carrasco here on "comunidad del valle" out of san jose. council member, as i reported live that day, most of those who were there demonstrating were there for all there were about 50 to 100 agitators. and i was witness to that. the police officers, rocks and bottles, some of which whizzed by my head at the police officers and then the vandalizing and looting of local businesses. chaco's restaurant was vandalized, mescal restaurant was vandalized. talk about your reaction to that. >> we have the right to assemble and to raise our voices in solidarity and i really do applaud all of the folks who have had the courage to come out and to make their voices heard.

this is -- this is -- this is what needs to be done. especially for those who may not be listening who are tone deaf to the inequities that brown people and black people have been subjected to. now, let's just -- let's differentiate. there is a huge difference between protesting and standing in solidarity and making your voices heard and being disgusted, even, by what has been happening, but especially with george floyd and his family. there's a huge difference between that and then committing crimes, being prone to violence, and then also hitting those small businesses who have already been struggling greatly because of covid-19. we've been sheltered in place for 11, 12 weeks now. this is enough to completely destroy small businesses who might -- who were probably just barely hanging on to begin with,

with the high rent and the high utility bills, and so they've been offering our communities and cities such great services and great products. we want to make sure when they get back into their -- into their restaurants or into their stores that they are able to reopen their doors. unfortunately, you know, i wasn't there when the violence broke out. i haven't been there when we've seen incidents of violence. it's only been reported to me. but we have to make sure we understand what is the message? focused. we are all listening. we want to make those structural changes, but when it gets clouded or the noise gets so loud because now you have looting, vandalizing -- >> the message is hijacked. >> it gets hijacked and our focus gets shifted from really what's important. now i have to go out and protect and defend my small businesses. i have to start putting measures

in place that are going to protect families and children who want to be a part of this movement, but now it's too dangerous for them to be there. so i understand the frustration, i get it, you know, i lived through my own and, you know, when i was in college we were part of a lot of the manife manifestatio manifestations, but, again, we have to make sure that we can protect those who have already been incredibly vulnerable to so many of the same injustices that we're protesting against. >> you kind of touched on this final point on my end, council member, is how do we move forward? how do we heal from this? what do we need to do both as civic leadership and as residents in general? >> so, you know, when you live in poverty and when you live in conditions that limit your ability to succeed it becomes -- it's a traumatic experience. and we're dealing with pain and

trauma that comes from not just, like i said, no the just my lifetime but the lifetime of those that can be forming. we inherit that. so not free of racist behavior or policies that prevented us from succeeding. it is in the dna of san jose. it's in the dna of silicon valley. east side, which is the area that i represent, it's not a mistake, it's not an accident that the majority of the folks that live on the east side of san jose happen to be or we happen to share the same hue of color. there was purposeful policies red lining and covenants and titles that prevented us from buying and purchasing and living harmoniously with our brothers and sisters in willow glen, in rose garden and even almaden valley. if you look at the paperwork some of the covenants are still intact. we are not enforcing them, but

they are still intact. as of 2015, years ago, you know, what is it, the u.s. department of housing and urban development had a huge settlement with some of these very banks that practiced in milwaukee, pennsylvania, new york, chicago, but they've done it here as well. so part of moving forward is allowing individuals to express their pain, but it's also making some of those changes. >> deep-rooted issues and not an overnight solution. thank you so much, council member magdalena carrasco for your insight and your leadership in this. >> thank you so much for allowing me this time. >> thank you. we will be back here on "comunidad del valle" with san jose mayor sam liccardo. stay with us. we're here for you and we're open.

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your thoughts on what you've seen in young people taking to the streets to express their first amendment rights to express their opinion. >> it has been heartening to th it's not, you know, simply this particular community or that particular community, it's been a broad cross-section of our community. obviously we have a very diverse community here in san jose, but it's clear that the entire city embraces the need for justice, for racial equity, for accountability and, you know, i know that that's not unique in this country, but what is unique, i think, is how so many feel about this in a that is really collective. i'm hearing f leaders who are saying how can we help? how can we get involved? we didn't have that in the past with other protests and demonstrations. i think we're seeing this is broad and it's deep.

>> are you surprised at maybe how deep-rooted some of those community concerns are? and it's nationwide, obviously, but they are also in our backyard. >> sure. you know, i suppose a little bit in the sense that there are folks who are getting involved that you never would have imagined being involved in a protest before. i should also say it's been heartening as we've been cleaning up the next morning, how protesters are joining us cleaning graffiti and picking up debris and all the things to try to help get our city back on its feet. i think there is despite the agitators among it as well, there has been a real spirit of embracing our city that i'm grateful to see. >> all right. yes, you mentioned on the negative side there were some agitators. i counted maybe 50 to 100 of them who were confrontational with some of the police officers, throwing rocks and bottles at them, and then the looting and the vandalism of

these poor downtown businesses that can least afford something like that to happen right now. so your reaction to that aspect of what happened. >> yeah, it's painful. you know, it's painful because -- and it's really east side, king, story, downtown, east santa clara street, these are small businesses, overwhelmingly immigrant owned and folks who have been struggling so much over the last three months just to keep being able to pay payroll, just to be able to keep employees on board and to see that they have to grapple with these kinds of challenges on top of it, it is -- it is -- you know, it's a kick in the gut, i know. for so many of them, and it's painful to see how widespread the damage has been to our city. more than 100 of these small businesses have been afflicted with windows being smashed in, we have had a lot of graffiti and the graffiti is painful to read. you know, it's attacks on cops

certainly, it's certain suggestion that, you know, we are far more deeply divided than any of us would like to believe that we are and we have a lot of work to do to somehow or other reach those individuals who feel that their only way of communicating is through destruction. >> your reaction to the way on the law enforcement side how this was all handled. we have had just over a week to kind of process it and analyze it. what's your initial reaction? >> i'd say, you know, from my own friday and saturday on some of the protests, i was very proud the way that hundreds of our officers refrained from taking the bait when fireworks were thrown at their head or fireworks were blown up over their head. after that time i think we've

all seen different videos, for example, on social media and some of them are pretty disturbing. i conveyed several of those to the police chief and have had some pretty lengthy conversations. there is no question we need accountability where there are those individual officers that stepped over the line and certainly, you know, that officer ewan was one that was discussed wide lie here in the media, but there have been others and part of the challenge of course is we're seeing a very short snapshot of whatever happened. i'm being reminded that there are often a lot of events that are happening before that may provoke a response and it's important for us to see it all. i suspect we will have a full investigation of each of ts,e nt of transparency around these certainly on all respects as we should and this is going to be a very long and difficult conversation with our community about how we use force, how we don't. i'm very troubled, for example, about the use of rubber bullets and that's something i have had several conversations with the chief about and we are going to,

i think, have some pretty public conversations about that, the use of that particular tool to control crowds is problematic. so these are issues that we have to grapple with and, look, democracy is messy and we're just going to have to do it. >> the important message from san jose mayor sam liccardo here on "comunidad del valle." we will be back and speak with the mayor of san jose. stay with us.

mayor sam liccardo here on "comunidad del valle." moving forward, mayor, you talked about some of these lengthy conversations we need to have, but what else do we need to do maybe on the civic side and also on the community side to come together and mend the fences that need to be mended? >> it's clear there needs to be a lot more communication and, you know, i'm not sure the public fully understands what exactly officers are dealing with. you know, at the same time, you know, there is nio we need to better hear what the public is saying. there needs to be better communication both ways. let me just go to the first

because i think there's been a lot said about the need to hear clearly the pain that is coming particularly from communities of color in our community and throughout this country about what they every day are dealing with in ways that someone who grew up with white privilege like i have simply is not going to fully comprehend. so we need to do a lot more listening and understanding. but with regard to the specific incidents over the last several days, it is clear, i think, as a city we need to communicate better about when it is that police officers are going to resort to the use of tear gas and why and what specific instances drove that decision. i think people deserve to hear that and i think a lot of folks in the public would be surprised to know what exactly officers are dealing with in that second to second determination of do i hold back, continue to restrain myself, do i have to get involved in order to protect somebody else or protect a fellow officer. that's a really difficult

decision and i think it's important for us to get a lot more transparency around how those decisions are made and what the criteria are. >> talking on the law enforcement slook at some polic well and more equity w decisions at the citywide level. was this eye opening for the council or is this something that we have been dealing with over the years? >> well, i think, you know, we've been very comfortable and i'd say myself and the rest of city council in the past just saying, hey, those really difficult decisions, you know, that's for the chief. that's eddie and their team to figure out. for the most part they have done a marvelous job for many years doing just that. now it's clear that those decisions are more public and the consequences are more challenging and frankly there is a lot of gray area out there.er look at a video and say that's absolutely wrong [ inaudible ] and then maybe we look at the broader frame and understand what happened before and after

and maybe it starts to look a little more cloudy. so i think that's what the council is grappling with right now. there is no question that people are expectingcc us,aiy they sho. at the same time we have a structure of government in which frankly we don't have the authority to tell the police chief what to do. that's not the way the city charter was created by voters, that's not what exists today. the council manager is a form of government which means the manager has responsibility and everybody assigned under them and our role on the council is to create policy. frankly i think that structure does need to change. i think there needs to be accountability, i think the mayor should be able to hire and fire folks throughout an organization so that the mayor is actually accountable in a way not simply blamed or responsible, but actually able to effectuate decisions. so i think this may be the beginning of an important conversation in addition to the really important conversations we have to have around race, equity and policing, but also

around the structure of our city. that we are a big city now and the way that other big cities work is -- and i'm not saying this for my benefit, this is going to be probably the next mayor who takes over because you have to change the city charter to do this, but a mayor is truly accountable and able to say, yeah, the chief did it and i was part of that conversation, i was part of that decision. rather than us simply being able to say that's really the city manager and police chief's role. i don't think that's satisfactory to folks living in san jose and that's not the way most big cities work and we need to change that. >> on the policy side when we are talking about housing and other equity issues was that also something that we need to look at? and the city has been doing a great job as far as the affordable housing part, but, you know, better access to all communities, is that something that we're doing strong or do you think we have to work on those a little bit? >> oh, gosh, we have a lot of work to do. let me just qualify thank you for the praise but we are not doing a good enough job on

affordable housing. we have a lot more work to do because we know thousands of families are struggling right now. look, there's no question that was boiled to the surface as an issue about race and policing and use of force, but underlying all that i think we know there's much more, right? this is about equity and fundamentally i think more than anything else it is economic. we are enduring a pandemic that has laid bare the broad gaps in our community. latinx community are horribly affected by this pandemic. higher death rates, you know, the economic fallout is more of our -- residents are without a job, without a paycheck and they're suffering as a result. certainlrin n-american communit dynamics. so the fact that our economic disparities are so correlated

with race is what i believe fundamentally is underlying an enormous amount of what we are seeing in terms of emotion and frustration and anger and, yes, it plays out in policing, it plays out in disparate impacts on health, it has multiple impacts. but i believe at the root of it we fundamentally need to address the economic issues. >> san jose mayor sam liccardo on "comunidad del valle." in i final thoughts before i let you go? >> there's a lot we have to work on. in november we will be considering a ballot measure to expand, for example, the independent police auditor's authority and scope. there is a lot of thing we will be doing in the meantime as well. i would just say -- encourage everybody to roll up their sleeves with us, let's work on this together. >> thank you so much, san jose mayor sam liccardo. be well. >> thank you for joining us, we will see you once again here next week from my home to yours.

i'm sara gore, and this is "open house." we have a great show this week, as we explore a diverse array of los angeles homes, including this hillside mid-century stunner. and we discover the many inspirations in this interior designer's write, live, work abode. we partner up with our friends at "house beautiful magazine" to tour this 1920s french revival in los angeles, plus, how this designer brought light and a bohemian chic look into our client's venice beach home. but before all of that we're in west hollywood with erin fetherston, who shows how her fashion yet relaxed family home.yous to take on a life of its own.